HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC]

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"Come on, Lys, take out your wand. Let me see how you perform magic. All these years, I always thought you were a Squib."

Lys quickly reached for the spot where she usually kept her wand, only to find it empty. "Mom left my wand in our old house."

At this moment, Noah also remembered that underage wizards had a Trace placed on their wands when they signed the agreement in their first year. Senna must have thought of this.

To prevent those persistent individuals from tracking any signs of the children and finding their current residence, she hid the children's wands. This way, it would appear as though the students were obediently staying at home without recklessly using magic.

Thinking that his wife had indeed been thoughtful, Noah handed his own wand to Coco and asked her to give it to Lys. "Here, try this one. Cypress wood with a dragon heartstring core."

Holding the wand, Lys hesitated. She had heard from her professors before that one should not casually use someone else's wand. If the wand was not compatible, it could cause significant harm. Besides, she hadn't even successfully cast a simple Lumos spell yet. What if...

"Give it a try. How about the Levitation Charm? Float the picture frame on the table into your hand. I want to show you what you looked like when you were little, Lys."

Lys, clutching the wand, was extremely nervous. She didn't dare to cast the spell. Her father had no idea how poor her academic performance was. What if she broke the frame? What if she turned the photo inside into silver...?

Noah noticed his daughter's right hand trembling as she held the wand. She even wiped her forehead with her left hand as if she were sweating, swallowing nervously. It reminded him very much of Senna's guilty demeanor when she secretly drank behind his back.

"It's okay. Maybe this wand isn't suitable for you. When Senna comes back, I'll ask your mom to find one for you," Noah said, raising an eyebrow as he took his wand back from the tray held by the house-elf. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Your face is hurt. What happened?"

This time, Lys's gulping was so loud that Noah could hear it clearly. "Did Senna... hit you?"

"No, it wasn't Mom," Lys quickly lifted her head in shock to deny.

"It wasn't Mom. Mom never hit me," she repeated, still startled.

Noah wasn't entirely sure if his daughter was telling the truth. That morning, when Senna went out, she was still complaining about a headache from a hangover.

He just stared at Lys, saying nothing more, but kept staring with a heavy expression and furrowed brows. The chair beneath him seemed to grow teeth, making Lys squirm uncomfortably.

"I got into a fight on the Hogwarts Express."

Ah, indeed, this child was very much like her mother. This trick worked on her mother, and it worked on her too.

But, was the child bullied?

Even if he found out, what could he do? Storm into the school to confront someone? Stand up for his daughter? He couldn't do any of that. Lys even had to fabricate an imaginary "Alan Black" to introduce as her father to hide the fact that he was still alive.

He couldn't even leave his bed.

Lys fiddled with the hem of her clothes and said, "It was James Potter from Gryffindor and Sirius Black. That Black said Mom didn't want me anymore. I cast two spells on him during Christmas, and this time I got cornered on the train. Dad, I won't lose next time, really. I'll win. Please don't be angry, you and Mom..."

"Angry? I'm not angry, Lys. Your mom and I only want you to protect yourself," Noah said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. After all, she was his daughter.

"You just said a Black was in Gryffindor and hanging out with that shampoo kid from the Potter family?" He doubted he heard correctly. Sirius Black? If he remembered correctly, Sirius was the eldest son of the Black family and would be the future heir. Gryffindor? Ridiculous!

The Black family was eternally noble, forever pure, and always Slytherin! How could there be a Gryffindor?

"Yes, the Slytherin students and Narcissa were just as shocked. They looked just like you," Lys said dryly. "I even saw him arguing with Narcissa Black. He scattered her Galleons all over the place."

Noah was baffled and shocked. But he didn't know what to say. After all, he had been out of touch with the outside world for a long time.

Seeing that Lys wasn't keen on continuing the conversation about the boys she fought with, Noah, feeling a bit tired, decided to end the father-daughter chat.

At lunch, Lys found a strange parsley in the kitchen. She planned to chop it up for a salad, but as soon as she made the first cut, she noticed something odd. It had no parsley aroma but instead smelled like wormwood mixed with bubotuber.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't a vegetable but a potion ingredient. It must have gotten mixed up with the groceries Mom had bought. This ingredient needed to be processed and sun-dried before use.

Lys quickly handled it and placed it outside the kitchen window to dry. Coco made mashed potatoes and braised beef for lunch. After eating, Lys started reading the stack of books her dad had given her after their last chat.

"Origins of Darkness," "The Conflict of Black and White Magic"? She couldn't understand the beginning, so she flipped to the back, but it was just as incomprehensible.

She switched to another book, "The Elements of Curse Casting," but still couldn't understand. After going through four or five books, she finally found one titled "A Beginner's Guide to Minor Hexes." It contained spells she had seen Potter and Sirius Black use on their classmates. Chewing on some dried fruit Coco had found somewhere, Lys lay on her little bed reading.

And so, half of her holiday passed, filled with cooking, eating, reading, and sleeping.